10 safety tips to ensure children stay safe on your farm this winter

Rural families were today warned about the heightened risk on farms due to poor visibility and hazardous weather conditions over the winter period.

The warning was issued at the launch of a new mobile game designed to empower children to become farm safety ambassadors.

The game, which was developed by the multi-award winning farm safety education platform, AgriKids, was launched by RTE Sports Broadcaster and Mother of two, Evanne Ní Chuilinn.

Agrikid’s 10 farm safety tips for children this winter:

Children should never travel alone to the farm.
When children visit the farm, farmers and parents should always explain the dangers.
Hi-visibility clothing and accessories are essential in the darkened evenings and early mornings.
After dark there should be proper lighting in the areas where people are working or visiting.
Farm yards should be kept tidy and free from any hazards that may cause trips and falls.
Extra clothing layers should be tucked in and jackets closed with no hanging strings to ensure they don’t get snagged or entangled in machinery.
Farmers should only give children jobs that are suitable for their age e.g. feeding hens, stacking buckets.
Farmyards are not playgrounds. Farmers should set up a suitable play area away from the yard.
Farmers should lead by example and show children how to prevent farm accidents.
Farmers should have a farm safety action plan and always have a first aid kit stocked and accessible

The new mobile game was developed on behalf of AgriKids by Dublin based app development studio, Fierce Fun.

RTE Sports Broadcaster and Mother of 2, Evanne Ní Chuilinn and her daughter Peigí (15 months) today launched a new mobile game developed by AgriKids to empower children to become farm safety ambassadors.

The game, which is available to download for free on Google Play or App Store., is ideal for children from the age of six upwards.

Donegal based illustrator, Martin Beckett, who is the artist behind the AgriKids series of children’s books also designed the app’s graphics and imagery while composer, Jamie Wilson, another Donegal resident has created the app’s distinct sound with an original score.

Founder of AgriKids, Alma Jordan said, there tends to be a lot of focus on farm safety during spring and summer which are the busiest time on our farms, but winter brings with it much poorer weather conditions making many farmyards and roads treacherous.

“For many farmers, the daily workload remains the same with animals needing to be fed and cows milked but the work is being carried out with a significant decrease in visibility as a result of shorter, darker days.

“Many children are off school for at least two weeks at Christmas and may visit or find themselves out on the farm more often so safety needs to be front of mind,” she said.